Looking for clarification/advice on Science courses.

malnurtured · 23-05-2015 10:45AM #1

I'm a 5th year student at the moment and I'm fretting a little bit about the requirements for my courses and what the best course of action is. I'm looking for a little bit of advice from people who know the system better than I do.

I've decided that I want to do Science at third level. The problem is that I am not great at HL Maths, and this would be fine if it was just about points, but passing/failing determine my whole leaving cert as you can't fail a core subject AFAIK. Now, I've looked at some of the course requirements around the place (most recently UCD's Gen. Science) and I they don't require HL Maths, as far as I can tell.

However, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that most of the Lvl8 courses in Science require you to do a bit of Maths at third level, which I'm assuming would be a lot harder than anything OL Maths has to throw at me. So I'm wondering if it's better to just work my backside off to do HL Maths and risk it because it'll serve me better for those parts of the course, so I don't get lost? I will probably end up doing something in Biology, but again the Maths is still prevalent.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not *terrible* at maths, but it's definitely not a strong point and I'd want to stray away from it as far as possible at the college level. I can't be the only one who loves Science but isn't good at maths?

Anyway, thanks for reading. Advice appreciated.

BlueWolf16 · 23-05-2015 12:43PM

I'm in a similar boat as you, I'm not very good at maths, but I want to (and will) do Computer Science, a quite maths-heavy subject. You should be fine to be fair, but I would recommend to go for HL maths, atleast until the Mocks. Work hard and you'll definitely get atleast a C3.

Science subjects can involve mathematics, and especially at a high ranking uni like UCD it will. But they won't just jump straight to some matrix stuff, there will likely be mature students in your class too who will have forgotten a lot of maths. They will work with everyone at the same level, regardless if you got a C in ordinary maths or an A in higher level. If anything, go for HL maths as a challenge, it will help you in the future.

JK2015 · 23-05-2015 03:20PM

For science in UCD ordinary maths is fine - there are only 2 compulsory maths modules there, neither are particularly difficult and theres loads of help available if you need it. Do ordinary maths if you don't think you'll do very well at higher level, and devote extra time/effort to the other subjects then. The two maths modules cover only matrices and differentiation/integration - matrices are no longer covered anyway in LC AFAIK, and both modules start with the basics and assume no prior knowledge.
After this, there is very little maths involved in the course, and what is there is quite basic and very relevant. Good Luck

malnurtured · 23-05-2015 04:07PM

Yeah, I think I'll probably stay for the Mocks at least, and work my arse off. The paper questions just scare the sh*t out of me to be honest, but I guess time will tell.

malnurtured · 23-05-2015 04:09PM

@JK2015

This is what I hope it'll be like. I don't mind doing compulsory modules, and if they're okay like you say I think I'll be less nervous about the choice. Thanks.

JK2015 · 23-05-2015 04:30PM

malnurtured wrote: »

@JK2015

This is what I hope it'll be like. I don't mind doing compulsory modules, and if they're okay like you say I think I'll be less nervous about the choice. Thanks.

Once you put in a bit of effort and try to keep on top of it, its easy to do well tbh. Theres also an introductory maths module you can take if you get less than a B in OL and have no confidence in your maths abilities, and this covers really basic topics. Whether or not you need this, it just goes to show they don't expect everyone to have great maths ability and understand that some need extra help.

malnurtured · 23-05-2015 05:17PM

That's pretty great news. For perspective, would you say the maths involved in the General Science course is easier, at the same level or more challenging than LC HL Maths? Maybe there's not enough of it to compare.

JK2015 · 23-05-2015 07:19PM

In my opinion its easier - I hadnt done matrices before so can't compare that to leaving cert, but the the second module basically covered the same material as leaving cert. If there are difficulties, each module covers 1 topic, so you have 12 weeks to get to grips with it, which is much more than would be devoted to a topic at leaving cert. As well as that, exam questions are pretty much the same each year so exams are quite easy to prepare for.
Regardless of how confident you feel about maths, theres really no need to worry about the maths involved in that course. Even if you've barely managed to get through 5th year HL, I dont honestly think that the maths would pose a big problem in college. And even if you hate it, its just a small part of the course and all you need to do is get through it - 1st year results don't count for anything.

malnurtured · 23-05-2015 07:21PM

You've been extremely helpful. Many thanks.

Looking for clarification/advice on Science courses.

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